The base of these quick cookies requires only three ingredients. You can dress them up with whatever other throw-ins that you enjoy.
Ingredients are in grams so you can just mix it up right on your scale. Ain’t nobody got time to scrape peanut butter into a measuring cup just to dig it all out again.
No Bake Three-Ingredient High(er) Protein Cookies
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 80g oats
- 80g vanilla or chocolate whey protein powder
- 125g peanut butter
- 40-60g water
- jelly, dried fruit, chia seeds, chocolate or carob chips, dried coconut optional
Instructions
- Mix the oats, peanut butter and whey in a bowl. Add the water a bit at a time until it gets to a consistency that sticks together. (If you add too much water, just add more oats or whey).
- For energy balls: toss any combination of chia seeds, chocolate or carob chips and/or dried fruit. With wet hands, roll into 12 balls, then roll in dried coconut.
- For thumbprint cookies: with wet hands, roll dough into 12 balls, then squash each ball in the center with your thumb. Fill with a touch of jam or a date.
- I would suggest storing these in the refrigerator so they don't become too gooey and soft.
Notes
Nutrition estimate is for one cookie made with Met Rx Natural whey protein powder and no other toppings or additions.
114 calories – 6 fat – 8 carbs – 7 protein
These come out very soft. Not so soft that they fall apart, but soft enough that they are chewy and might require a napkin.
These cookies are more nutrient dense and higher in protein than a standard cookie. I would not call them protein cookies, though.
A general guideline for identifying high protein foods is that the item should have at least 10 grams of protein per 100 calories.
Advertisers know that protein is becoming a thing with people. Thus, many products will claim ‘high protein’ on the front of the package and jack up their prices accordingly.
While there are not many regulations as to what can be advertised on the front of the package, you can see if you are getting what you are paying for simply by checking the nutrition label.
For example, 3oz of chicken breast has 24g of protein and 129 calories. This works out to around 19g of protein per 100 calories. This would be considered a high protein food.
Here is an example of a food that is marketed as a protein food, but does not come anywhere close to meeting the standard:
This food is has 170 calories with 6g of protein. That is less than 4g protein per 100 calories – which is less than half of what would be considered a high protein food. The majority of the calories come from fat.
These are not protein bites – they are fat bites. Which is fine, but can be very misleading to those who are looking to increase their protein intake while keeping their calories in a reasonable range.
It is a good idea to check labels to avoid paying extra for ‘high protein foods’ that are not being accurately represented. Or, just make it yourself.